


Light on Your Feet

by babyvamp



Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: 1930s, 1940s, 1940s Bucky, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bucky is kind of an idiot, Dancing, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Light Angst, Marvel - Freeform, Mild Language, Miscommunication, Pet Names, Pre-Captain America: The First Avenger, Pre-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Pre-World War II Bucky Barnes, Reader-Insert, Self-Esteem Issues, Steve and reader are friends, WWII Bucky Barnes, but also a big sweetheart, minor mentions of child abuse, plus size reader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-07
Updated: 2019-02-07
Packaged: 2019-10-23 22:23:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17692232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/babyvamp/pseuds/babyvamp
Summary: “I can’t believe you invited Irene. What about Y/N?” you heard Steve’s muffled voice say.“What about Y/N?”“Well I thought you invited her, because you wanted her to be your… dance partner,” Even through the door, the implication in Steve’s words was clear. You held your breath as you strained to hear Bucky’s response.“What? No! Y/N and me aren’t like that. She’s a great girl, but we’re just friends. She’s not quite dance partner material, ya know? Not exactly light on her feet, if you know what I mean,”---You and Bucky have been flirting and becoming close friends for months, and you're elated when he finally asks you to go dancing. But when you overhear Steve and Bucky talking right before you're supposed to go out, you start to second guess what your relationship actually means.





	Light on Your Feet

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! Just want to start of by saying that the teen and up rating is purely due to some mild language and a very brief mention of childhood abuse, so read at your own discretion. 
> 
> Now that that's out of the way, thank you so much for choosing to read this fic! It has been so long since I've written anything, but today I just got an idea in my head and had to get it out there, so here you go!
> 
> This story only took me a few hours, so by no means is it a literary masterpiece. Also, I am my only proofreader, so if you catch any glaring mistakes, please let me know so I can fix it! 
> 
> Again, thank you so much for your support and feedback, it really means so much to all of us who share on AO3. Now enough with the preamble, and onto the fic!

            The first time you had seen James Buchanan Barnes you knew you were a goner. You had met working the same shift at the docks- Bucky loading and unloading shipments that came through, and you in the small clerical office set up in the warehouse to oversee orders.

            The office was hot and stuffy, so your lunch breaks were always a welcome respite. You liked to sit outside near the loading dock in the shade and breathe in the cool ocean air, and of course you had to admit the view wasn’t too bad, either. It was during your lunch break one day that you had caught the attention of James “Just call me Bucky” Barnes. You had been sitting on your regular bench, eating with your nose in a book, when the most perfect man you had ever laid eyes on strolled right up to you and plopped himself down on the seat beside you.

            You had been totally engrossed in the spoils of your latest trip to the library- a new Agatha Christie mystery- and were waiting with baited breath to see if Hercule Poirot was finally going to catch his man, when you heard a voice ask, “Mind if I join you?” You looked up, surprised to see a man- no, a damn angel- standing in front of you, afternoon sunshine filtering in behind him like a halo. He smiled at you, clearly enjoying your stunned silence.

            “Um, no. Go ahead,” you picked up the remains of your long-forgotten lunch, and moved over a bit on the bench for him to sit.

            “The name’s James. James Buchanan Barnes,” he said, as he took a seat and turned toward you. “But most everyone just calls me Bucky. ‘Specially pretty dames like you,” You blushed, as he gave you a flirtatious wink.

            “So… What’s a nice guy like you doing on a bench like this?” You asked, trying to play it as cool as you could with those beautiful, steel blue eyes looking right at you. Bucky laughed at that, and seemed to relax a little next to you.

            “Well it was the strangest thing. There I was, ready to take my lunch break when I noticed this beautiful woman sitting all by herself on this bench. That didn’t seem right to me, so I thought to myself ‘Buck, you’ve gotta go talk to this dame. A girl like that could use some company.’ So here I am,”

            “She probably could have. It’s too bad she left before you got here. I guess now you’ll just have to settle for me,” you said with a playful smile. You meant it as a joke, but you genuinely couldn’t help but wonder what this guy’s angle was. You had a hard time trying to figure out what this god-like man next to you, all lean muscles and square jaw, could possibly have seen in you to make him lay it on so thick. Sure, you’d had fellas call you cute before, but you certainly didn’t have what would be considered the trimmest of figures, and surely a guy like Bucky didn’t need to be wasting his time on a girl like you.

            “Kitten, talkin’ to you could never be settling,” Bucky said, slapping you with the most sinfully beautiful smile you’d ever seen. Hell, even if it was all some big ploy, you could get used to this.

\-----

 

            Bucky kept coming to talk to you during your breaks nearly every day. Although you had still been wary at first about what motive he could possibly have to talk to _you_ of all people, you quickly found yourself opening up to him. Bucky may have been a flirt, but he seemed like a genuinely warm person who just wanted someone to chat with. He was a dangerous kind of person to befriend- flirtatious and teasing one moment, and then thoughtfully pondering some quote or philosophy from your books with you the next. It was all you could do not to go absolutely dizzy over him right then and there.   

            Sometimes Bucky’s friend Steve would come and join the two of you on your lunch break. Bucky had told you about Steve on several occasions- about how he was always getting into fights and causing trouble wherever he went. So when you met Steve, you weren’t at all prepared for this scrawny, mild-mannered artist, who was not who you had imagined as the type to start fights all over Brooklyn. Even if he wasn’t what you had expected, you liked Steve, and you took to each other immediately. The two of you would sit and talk about your newest book or Steve’s new sketches he had done at the pier, and Bucky would simply close his eyes and nap in the warm sun, while the two of you carried on.

            That had all started about three months ago. Every day you could feel yourself falling more and more for Bucky. Every wink, every joke, every playful touch sent you further towards the point of no return. Hell let’s face it, you had passed that point a long time ago. The problem was of course that you couldn’t tell if Bucky liked you, too. Sure he flirted mercilessly, called you “Kitten” and “Doll”, but that’s just who Bucky was, it didn’t mean anything. At least that’s what you tried to remind yourself every time you felt your face flush and butterflies in your stomach. You’d let yourself dream about what it must be like to go on a date with _the_ Bucky Barnes, real-life Adonis, but you’d never truly allowed yourself to believe it would happen until…

            “Say Kitten, feel like goin’ dancing?” Bucky peered at you from under the brim of his worn newsboy cap he had pulled low over his eyes. He sat up from his slouched position on the bench next to you, and took off his cap, running his hands through his gorgeously tousled hair. You had to stop staring at the way the muscles in his arms moved with the motion, reminding yourself to focus on the words coming out of his mouth. His full, soft, kissable mouth… Shit. “See, ‘cause Stevie and I haven’t gotten outta the apartment in a while, and there’s a joint just down the road from us that has a great band on weekends. What do ya say?” You didn’t respond right away, because you were sure you hadn’t heard him right. Because for a minute it almost sounded like Bucky Barnes was actually asking you on a- “Hey Doll, did you hear me? Is it a date or what?”

            “Sure Buck, that sounds fun,” you flashed him a smile, trying to calm yourself.

            “Good, I’ll let Stevie know. Maybe he’ll actually shower for once,” Bucky winked at you and grinned, before pulling his hat back over his eyes, and settling in for a short nap.

            Once his eyes were closed, you let free the ridiculous grin you had been holding back for the last few minutes. A date. You had a date with James Buchanan Barnes. Yes, you knew it wasn’t a _date_ date- Steve would be there, so it wouldn’t be just the two of you, but you were excited nonetheless. You finally had a chance to see Bucky when you were wearing something other than your office clothes, when your hair hadn’t been ruined by ocean humidity and sweat from the warehouse. Hell, maybe you’d even break out your good red lipstick.

            So no, it wasn’t a date, but it sure was a start.

\----- 

            You walked up to Bucky and Steve’s apartment, trembling excitedly, your hand poised to knock, when you heard your name being said through the thin walls. “I can’t believe you invited Irene. What about Y/N?” you heard Steve’s muffled voice say.

            “What about Y/N?”

            “Well I thought you invited her, because you wanted her to be your… dance partner,” Even through the door, the implication in Steve’s words was clear. You held your breath as you strained to hear Bucky’s response.

            “What? No! Y/N and me aren’t like that. She’s a great girl, but we’re just friends. She’s not quite dance partner material, ya know? Not exactly light on her feet, if you know what I mean,” Your heart sank in your chest, and everything went numb. You knew you weren’t the slimmest girl in the world, hell, you didn’t have enough fingers and toes to count the number of dates you’d had that ended with “You’re a great girl, but you’re just not my type”. You just never thought Bucky would be one of those men. You thought he saw past all that, saw _you_ for who you were, and not your dress size, but you had been wrong. Even worse, he had invited some other girl. _Probably so you’d finally take a hint_ , you thought. You stood in the hallway for a few minutes, overcome with so much embarrassment, and anger, and sadness, that it all just canceled each other out and became a feeling of nothingness that utterly consumed you.

            You were snapped back to reality when one of the building’s other tenants brushed past you in the hall. Your eyes landed on Bucky and Steve’s door once again, and you tried to steel yourself as you built up the nerve to knock. When you did, the door opened almost immediately, and the devastatingly handsome face of one James Buchanan Barnes was beaming at you from the other side. “Hiya, Doll! We’re just about ready to get goin’. Wanna come in for a minute?” You nodded wordlessly, and brushed past him to step inside the small apartment. You were too busy giving Steve a hug hello to notice Bucky’s face fall and give you a look of concern.

            “You look really beautiful, Y/N,” Steve noted, taking in your red dress, with its fitted drop waist and swishy skirt, which perfectly matched your dark red lipstick.

            “Thank you, Steve. You look nice too,” It took all your strength not to look over at Bucky, and try to gauge his reaction to your appearance. _It doesn’t matter,_ you told yourself bitterly, _He’ll never think of you that way. Who were you kidding?_

 -----

            The walk to the dance hall was short, but it felt like it went on for an eternity. Bucky had tried to start a conversation with you a few times, but all you’d do is give short, curt answers to his questions without looking at him, so eventually he just fell silent and let you and Steve slip into small talk.  As the three of you approached the big brick building, you saw an unfamiliar woman cross excitedly towards you. “Hiya, Bucky!” she grinned, leaning in to kiss the brunet’s cheek. You averted your gaze, and stared down at your shoes.

            “Hey, Irene. You remember Steve, right?” Bucky said, wrapping his arm around Irene’s waist. Steve and Irene exchanged pleasantries as you continued to try and look anywhere but at the gorgeous woman currently on a date with the man you loved. “And this is my pal Y/N,” Irene stuck her hand out as Bucky introduced you. You mustered up every ounce of will power you had, took her hand, looked her in the eye, and smiled. You could see why Bucky would like her. She was thin and beautiful, with smooth pale skin, her dark hair curled and brushed out into irritatingly perfect, shiny waves. Her dark blue dress was made of a material you could never possibly afford, and clung to her slender frame, showing off her obnoxiously perfect figure.

            Irene had already started dragging Bucky towards the door, which left you next to Steve, staring after them. The blond looked at you, and you could almost see in his eyes that he knew exactly what you were thinking. “Shall we?” He offered you his arm with a sheepish, knowing grin. You looked at him, and offered a weak smile, as you slid your arm in his, and braced yourself for the night ahead of you.

 -----

            The evening was going just about as well as you had expected. You and Steve had tried to muddle through a few dances, but Steve was never much one for dancing, and you knew he could tell your heart wasn’t in it, so the two of you decided to camp out at a table away from the dance floor for most of the night. Unfortunately, your seat still left you with a perfect view of Bucky and Irene having the time of their lives. Irene kept wrapping her arms around Bucky’s neck to whisper in his ear, and every time she did, you felt a pang in your chest. You and Bucky had gotten so close over the last few months. You knew about each other’s hope and dreams, and your greatest fears. He had told you about how both his parents had died when he was young, leaving him to care for his younger sister Becca, and how grateful he was that the Rogers’ had always treated them like family. You had told him about how, after your ma had died, your father would take to the bottle and slap you around from time to time, and how the men shouting during their shifts at the docks set you on edge. You knew everything there was to know about Bucky Barnes, and you had completely fallen in love with every bit of him. Stupidly you had allowed yourself to believe that he could feel the same way. But how could he? How could he love someone who looked the way you did when every Irene in New York City was throwing herself in his arms?

            You looked down and saw that even through your best corset, the bulge of your stomach was obvious in this dress, and you cursed yourself for choosing it- for bothering to come at all tonight. You forced yourself to look away, and your eyes drifted back to the dance floor. You saw Irene, but she was now dancing with a tall red-headed man, and you didn’t see Bucky anywhere. The song ended and the band slid into a slow, loving melody.

            “May I have this dance?” a silky voice said from behind you, and you jumped. You turned around in your seat and looked up into Bucky’s stormy blue eyes. You were tempted to say yes- to allow yourself to get lost in his arms and pretend, even for a moment, that you actually belonged there. But you could still hear his words echoing in your mind, and you just couldn’t take it any longer.

            “I don’t think so, Buck. After all, I’m not exactly light on my feet,” Your words had come out with more spite than you had meant, but you locked eyes with Bucky, letting him see the hurt and anger that had been building there all night. His eyes widened with realization and he opened his mouth to speak, but you got out of your seat before he had the chance to respond. “Sorry Stevie, I think I’m going to cut out early,” Steve just handed you your purse as you hurriedly put on your coat, pointedly glaring at his best friend over your shoulder. Before Bucky could even register what was happening, you were headed out the side exit just a few feet away.  

 -----

            Cool night air hit your face as you practically slammed the door open. You heard footsteps close behind you.

             “Doll, just wait-” Bucky reached for your hand to stop you.

            “No!” You wrenched your wrist from his grasp, and turned to face him. “You don’t get to do that, Buck. I’m not your ‘Doll’, I’m not your ‘Kitten’, I’m certainly not your dancing partner, and I’m sure as shit not your anything else!”

            “Y/N please, I'm sorry. If you just let me explain-” Bucky tried again to keep you from walking away. You pulled your hand away again, but you stood your ground.

            “Explain what, Bucky?” You spat out at him. “That we’re just ‘pals’? That I’m a ‘great girl’ but I’m not quite the right size for you? That you like me well enough, but someone like Irene’s a little more your speed? Yeah I got that, thanks,” You looked up into his eyes again, and suddenly all your anger was gone, all that was left was sadness and exhaustion. You just wanted to be done with this so you could go home, have a good cry, and try to put Bucky Barnes out of your head for good. “Look. If you don’t feel that way about me, I get it, Buck. I really do. I just-” You looked away from him again, hoping he couldn’t see the tears that were starting to form in your eyes.

            “Y/N,” Bucky put his hands on your shoulders, rubbing them softly, trying to coax you into looking at him. “You are absolutely gorgeous, and don’t you dare think for a second that I think any different. I never should have said any of that, I feel like a real putz for saying it at all, but I thought that you and Stevie… I dunno. I thought that the two of you were really hittin’ it off and I was hurt. But I also didn’t want to get in Steve’s way of havin’ a great girl like you, so I was tryin’ to convince him I wouldn’t be any competition, I guess,” He confessed, now the one not making eye contact. You were still shocked by all this, trying to make sense of everything he had just said.

            “But you invited Irene…” Even if he had just called you gorgeous, he had still taken out another girl, and that had hurt.

            “I thought if I brought a date, it’d help me take my mind off you and let Stevie have his chance. But to tell you the truth, I’ve been goin’ crazy all night thinkin’ about how I just wanted to whisk you right onto that dance floor. Such a beautiful dame shouldn’t be hidin’ at some table all night,” He gave you a smile, that damn smile that had you hooked months ago. You took a shaky breath.

            “Well then… What are you waiting for?” You asked him, tilting your head and giving him a coy smile. He grinned- not his usual suave smirk, but an honest-to-God schoolboy grin- and took your hand once more, and this time you let him.

 -----

            When you reached the dance floor, the band had just started up another slow number. Bucky pulled you towards him, giving you a spin before wrapping you up in his arms. As you swayed, you saw Steve still sitting in the back, and he gave you an enthusiastic wave. You giggled and shyly waved back.

            “You know I gotta say I was wrong, Doll. You are one hell of a dance partner,” Bucky winked at you. You rolled your eyes at him, and nestled your head against his warm, broad chest, feeling his arms tighten around your waist. You sighed contentedly, as you lazily made your way around the dance floor in a waltzing embrace. And for the first time in your life, you weren’t just light on your feet- you felt utterly weightless.


End file.
